Many types of food products are rolled. Specifically, food products that include dough are sometimes rolled for a variety of reasons. Dough products may be rolled to form the product itself, e.g., a cinnamon roll. Also, dough products may be rolled to provide a compact and easy to store form. For example, certain types of dough products are rolled and packaged in cans to be later removed and unrolled for use by a consumer. Such would also be the case for a large sheet of dough that may be temporarily rolled for storage. Rolling, as used throughout this Application, means that an edge feature of a dough product is lifted and at least folded over onto itself. As such, the present invention is applicable to dough products having many roll layers and to dough products that are folded over. Rolled dough products include those including dough alone or combined with any number of additional fillings, layers, and the like that may be refrigerated, frozen, or cooked (by baking, frying, and the like) after rolling.
Current trends in food product manufacturing demand high volume and high product yields. Lost product due to poorly controlled manufacturing conditions results in increased costs to the manufacturer and ultimately the consumer. Thus, tight control over manufacturing tolerances is of great importance in order to achieve a consistent, economical, and efficient manufacturing process.
In order to provide a rolled dough product manufacturing process meeting the above requirements, control over characteristics of the rolled dough product is desirable. These characteristics include at least size, shape, and tightness of the rolled dough product. Further, repeatable control of the position of the rolled dough product with respect to subsequent processing equipment is desirable. For example, where a rolled dough product is to be packaged in a can, roll tightness affects the dough product size as it is to be fit within the package volume.
A rolled dough product having a size larger than its intended package would usually be scrapped. Also, a rolled dough product having an exaggerated and inconsistent shape could also end up as scrap due to poor appearance and potential for unacceptability with the consumer. Poor repeatability in positioning a rolled dough product with respect to other processing equipment could result in excess scrap and could lead to a slower manufacturing process. Further, tightness of a rolled dough product, for a specific dough sheet size, will affect the size of the roll. In general, for the same dough sheet size, a tighter roll will be smaller. Ultimately, all of the characteristics of a rolled dough product are interrelated. Thus, control over all of these characteristics generally results in a consistent, economical, and efficient manufacturing process
The present invention was developed in particular for refrigerated dough products that are rolled and packaged in cans. Dough product, as used throughout this Application, means any food product that utilizes any formulation of a dough at least in part in making up the food product. The dough that is typically used to make such dough products generally includes flour, water, and a leavening agent, which leavening agent may comprise a chemical leavening system or use an active yeast culture. However, such dough may instead be unleavened for some dough products. The dough may also include other optional ingredients, for example, sweeteners, flavorings, and fat products. The dough products can be coated with a variety of toppings, for example oil, water, or filling, and such toppings may be substantially and uniformly incorporated into the completed rolled dough product. Further, the dough products may also be filled dough products including savory or sweet fillings and the like. Examples of such dough products include cinnamon rolls and the like.
One apparatus for rolling dough is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,458,970 to Reid et al., which is commonly assigned to the assignee of the present invention and the disclosure of which is entirely incorporated herein by reference. Disclosed in the Reid patent is an apparatus for rolling and packing dough into cans. A strip of dough is fed to a conveyor and cut into rectangular shapes. The cut dough then passes under a sheet of flexible material, such as a canvas sheet, that hangs from a stationary bar. The leading edge of the sheet of dough impacts the hanging sheet of canvas that causes the leading edge to roll over onto itself thereby initiating the roll. The roll is completed as the conveyor surface, frictionally engaged to the sheet of dough surface, moves the dough sheet under the resistance provided by the canvas sheet.
Other known manufacturing equipment for rolling dough include the use of a conveyor with other leading edge impacting mechanisms such as chains or boards that initiate and complete the rolling process. Much like the invention of Reid et al., a conveyor is used to transport a sheet of dough. The leading edge of the moving dough impacts the mechanism thereby causing the leading edge to roll over on itself and initiate the roll. As the conveyor moves the sheet of dough, which is frictionally engaged to the conveyor surface, beneath the stationary chain or board, the roll is completed. Also, a combination of devices may be used together, where one mechanism provides the initial roll and another mechanism completes and tightens the roll as it is conveyed forward.
A problem of the above-described equipment and process for rolling dough is that the impacting force can cause sliding of the dough surface with respect to the moving conveyor surface when the dough impacts the roll-initiating feature, e.g., the hanging canvas sheet, chain mesh, or boards. It has been discovered that this sliding can result in loose and poorly formed rolls that are not acceptable for any number of reasons and that do not properly fit into a can of predetermined size. Furthermore, the resulting manufacturing process is inefficient.